Just a Little Bit, A Moment in Time
by LorenDaGinger
Summary: All the time Tara has spent on the TARDIS, and their search for Rose.
1. Summery: spoilers

Tara is a homeless, six-year-old girl in New York. She was born in London and moved to the U.S. when she was three. Her parents and grandparents are her only family in America. In 2001, her mum and dad died in the 9/11 accident, and she moved in with her elders. They drove off a bridge shortly after her arrival.

When she heard the news of their deaths, she ran away and hid in the cement jungle of New York. She blamed herself for everyone's deaths, and she didn't want any more suffering to occur on her account.

After living on the street for a few days (2001, 6), she observed an unlucky vender being attacked by a ferret. Later that night, Tara and the ferret became best friends.

Captain Jack works for Torchwood, a secret government alien-control organization. They wanted him to continue to do their dirty work, even after he sacrificed his own love and grandson to save the world. So he ran away. This caused them to use an experimental alien-device on him, hoping to kill him, but it turned him into a ferret instead. He does not know how long it will last, or how to reverse it. He's waiting for the Doctor to come to help him.

Over the course of the years (2001-2004), Jack taught Tara ways to survive on the street.

In 2004, Tara woke up to Jack being _very_ sick. He told her to find a blue box and get the Doctor. Tara did just that, but sadly, when Jack was fixed, the truth was unleashed: He is really a human. Tara ran into the Tardis in despair. Jack gave the truth to Tara, and explained how they met that day by the vender.

"I'm nine, and time-travelling with two great men!" she thought.

They go to Tara's parents' wedding, and visit Camelot and Robin Hood. Tara finds out about the Doctor's lover, and makes it her mission to find her.

On Tara's tenth birthday ("And my first on a time-machine!"), the gang went to the café at the end of the universe. There, the Doctor found hope of seeing Rose, his love, again: they overheard a rumor about a final rip in the universe. The Doctor, Captain Jack, and Tara went there and found the rip. The Doctor managed to talk to Rose, but it's not until 2010 when they finally meet.

After Tara's birthday passed, the travelling slowed down. The Doctor became sad, and Jack wanted to fix him. He dropped Tara off at a private boarding school, hoping to fix the Doctor and then get her within a week.

When Jack finally came back to pick up Tara, two years had passed! She was twelve, and it was 2006. She hadn't changed much, but she had lost hope that he would return, so she made a new life. She had a friend, a real education, and most of all, she was happy. At first, she refused to believe that Jack was real. The she realized the adventures weren't dreams, and she said goodbye to boarding school, to live her life in the universe.

Four years on the Tardis goes by fast.

They met many wonderful people: Martha, Danna, and oddly enough, another Doctor. Throughout the journeys, Tara grew more and more fond of Jack and the Doctor. But one day, (2010, 16) on modern earth, there was a knock on the Tardis door.

The Doctor and Jack went out and Tara stayed on the ship, where it was safe. Then they walked in, all three of them: the Doctor, Jack, and a blonde Rose.

Rose and Tara became great friends, and enjoyed each other's girl-talks. Tara was getting mad at Jack for not being easy to talk to. Now that there was another girl on the ship, she could gossip and do her hair all she wanted.

The four of them explored the galaxies and saved many planets. Rose and the Doctor started to date, and as time went on, Tara saw how envious Jack became. He was so sad and alone, now that the Doctor had someone else to love. Who would he do things with?

In 2012 (18), Tara longed to go home and go to college. It made Jack sad that she grew up, but he knew what was right. They let her go to school in Ireland to major in biology. She wanted to be a vet.

Two more years passed, and the letters stopped. Rose knew something must be wrong, so they took a trip to see Tara. When they arrived at the college, they were sad to hear that Tara had died in a campus fire. She ran in to save a professor, but she stopped breathing when she came out. Jack was destroyed by the news. He wanted to have been there for her, but he never wanted to get in the way of her studies and dreams. He didn't visit.

After paying their respects, they went back onto the Tardis. When they entered, a tall, pale, black-haired lady was sitting on the seat. She glanced up and her face glowed.

"Jack!" she screamed.

He looked puzzled, but understood: Tara was a ghost.


	2. Lets go!

A Moment in Time

**2004**: Being on an alien spaceship is quite an adventure. Sane people never get to say that. Jack and I getting along nicely. It's actually nice not having him as a ferret. Instead of me carrying him around, he picks me up, swings me over his shoulder, and takes me away like a ragdoll. The Doctor, on the other hand, was fun at first, but I found out at my parents' wedding he has a lot of baggage. Ever since I brought up love, he has been moody and sulking. Jack says I should be nice, but I don't like being nice to sad people. Too much negative energy. Anyway, Jack told the Doctor to take me to meet Robin. I'm not sure who he is, but Jack says I'll like him. And I trust Jack. He always knows best.

**2004:** Today we spent in the bug-infested woods looking for a ghost. The Doctor says it takes a bit, but Robin's somewhere in Sherwood forest. Eventually we stopped in a cave to rest the night. Jack, since he doesn't sleep, kept watch all night while the Doctor kept a fire going and I slept. There isn't much a nine-year-old can do. When I woke up, I was alone in the cave. The fire had gone out, and all I had from the Doctor was his big coat that he must have put on me when I drifted off. "Jack!" I yelled. But there was no one out there. Just the trees and the stupid bugs. Although, I could definitely tell someone else was in the wood.

**2004**: It turns out the thing outside the cave was the Sheriff of Nottingham. He had been looking for Robin for quite some time, and thought I knew where he was. I was hoping Jack would be with him, but I couldn't find him or the Doctor anywhere. The Sheriff took me to his castle as a suspected dealer with Hood, and he wanted me to be hanged. Just as I stepped up to the rope, an arrow cut it loose. It was Robin Hood! And there were two other hoods with him? They ran to my rescue and stole me back into the forest. They were my two best friends! How silly I didn't notice sooner. They told me how Robin didn't see me when he went in to investigate, so he only took Jack and the Doctor. Then they saw me in trouble and helped. How heroic of them!

**2004:** After my rescue, Robin took the three of us back to the camp. It was a secret location, hidden like the Tardis would have been. Where is she, anyway? That night I left camp to look for her. My teddy was there, and I couldn't sleep without him one more night. And before long I was lost in the deep, dark woods. I sat down at the base of a tree and tried to rethink how I came to the spot, but it was very dark, so I sat and waited till morning.

When the sun rose, I was still lost. Travelling upstream, like Jack had taught me, I came to a village and saw the Sheriff making a speech. It didn't take long for a man in black to reach over from behind and throw me to the dirt. He wore black, and that's all I noticed. That, and his cold stare.

**2004:** "It's that girl again!" the little man screeched. Geez, he was so angry. I rolled, then crawled on the dirt, out of the reach of the leather-wearing man. "Help me! Jack? DOCTOR!" The rest of the people ran inside in fear. They weren't going to help me, a strange girl that is known by the Sheriff. Just as I got up, ready to run, I was thrown into the wagon and blindfolded. When my eyes opened to the light, I was back at the castle with the Sheriff and the slick man. But this time, a girl was there. She wasn't tied up like me, but we had the same face. "Hi, I'm Marian. What's your name?" she asked.

"…Tara…"

"That's a nice name," she said. "Can I ask you something about the forest? You came from there, right?"

"…Yeah…"

"Robin! Is he okay? Have you heard from him?" she whispered to me, keeping her words from the two distracted men in the corner.

"Robin Hood…saved me. And he's coming again."

**2004:** By the time anyone talked to me, it was noon. "Hello, I'm here to ask you about Marian," the dark man said, "Is she still in love with Robin?"

"I don't know…"

"You had better know! I have a deal to make: She loves kids, and will say anything to them. If you find out what I need to know, I'll let you free."

"Why does she matter?"

"Do you even know who you're talking to? I'm Guy of Gisborne. I answer to no one," he said, raising his voice.

I looked away. Jack always says a man who raises his voice at a lady will soon raise his hand. I was too hungry for this. Where's Jack?

More time passed, and my faith in Robin dwindled. A hero as big as him should have saved me, and the Doctor shouldn't be waiting either. It was dark again, and the chains on my wrists hurt, but Marian brought me bread, and we talked more about Robin. I had no idea two people could be so in love.

**2004:** Marian took me to her chambers so I wouldn't get sick from the dungeon. She's very nice…what I pictured my mum as. Guy continued to talk to me and her, but we turned our heads in the hopes that he would read the signals. That night, she told me to put on a red cape and follow her. They call her the Night Watchman. I was going to help and hopefully meet Robin and Jack so I could go home. But, like usual, nothing went right. When Marian asked me to jump over a street across rooftops, I thought it would be fun. But when you are on the roof looking down, it's not. I fell and dropped the dagger she had given me earlier that night. The fall was straight down into the street. It would have killed me, but Robin appeared and caught me right at the perfect moment. Jack wasn't far behind…but he should have been the one there. The Doctor was already at the castle, unlocking doors with his sonic screwdriver so they could grab the money and leave. The Night Watchman and Robin went in first, then the Doctor.

"Jack, I'm scared. The Sheriff's not nice! Please, I want to go home!"

"We will soon, Tara, be brave like I taught you. Robin's men are out, and he needs to get the money back to the people."

"Okay, Jack. Anything for you…" I sulked behind him as we entered the castle of darkness, dreading the people living there. Everyone was looking for the room with the loot. I had fallen behind the group. They left me out, even though I knew I could help.

"Jack—" I began.  
"Not now."

"Please! I know where it—"

"Tara…I can't babysit now!"

Well, if that's how things go down! I stormed away without being noticed, into the room of gold. No one treats me like that!

Just as I turned the corner into the room, I noticed the Sheriff and Guy talking.

"Why, hello," Guy said with some surprise when he saw me, "Sit."


	3. We are Robin Hood

**2004:** After sitting in the room with them and hearing their conversations, I realized that Guy isn't evil, he's just mislead and wears too much black. It got cold sitting on the stone floor, so he gave me his jacket when he saw I was shivering. It took a while for Robin and the others to show up. Marian called Guy out of the room, and Robin pointed an arrow at the Sheriff. Then Jack, the Doctor, and I grabbed the money and took off into the woods. As we left the castle, I waved goodbye to Marian and Guy, who were on the floor outside the coin room. Robin met up with us at the camp.

"I'll miss you," I said, giving him a hug, and burying my head in his hoodie.

"I'm always around. You won't miss me too much," he replied.

"Promise you'll be here when I come back."

"Promise."

With that, we got into the Tardis, which we had finally found.

**2004:** It's been a bit since we left Sherwood forest, and I miss Robin and Marian, but the Doctor says people come and go like that, so I shouldn't get upset about it. We haven't heard anything yet about his girl. Hopefully something will turn up soon.

Jack is still cranky for some reason. I think it's because I grew out of the jacket he got me, and am wearing Guy's. For the past few days I've had to sleep with Jack. He's been very nice about it, but I think he has better things to do than hold my hand when I have nightmares. Maybe I'll bother the Doctor tonight.

In my dreams, I keep meeting a boy named Gisben, and what I think is his little brother. We go to a cave and I get scared when we try to go in. Then I wake up. Jack used to always come when I screamed in my sleep, but he's been too busy to hear. He and the Doctor are looking for that girl. So, then Jack said he would stay with me, but he doesn't sleep, so it must be really boring for him. The Doctor doesn't sleep either, but at least he's okay with doing nothing for a few hours. He likes to relax.

That night, the Doctor brought me and Teddy to his room for the first time. It was plain with a lot of shelves of many collected items. His bed is very big chair.

"Umm…you can sit here, and there's the blanket," he says.

"Where will you sleep?"

"On the floor…?"

"No! I'll get scared…"

"Okay. Scoot over. I'll stay until you're asleep, and I'll leave the door open so I can keep an eye on you."

"You're not staying? Jack always stays the whole night."

"Well, um…okay."

With that, I curled up in his lap with Teddy and the timeless man's blanket. When I woke up, he was still there, his head leaning on mine. Good think he doesn't drool! Teddy had fallen off the couch-bed and I had been holding onto an arm, which turned out to have been Jack's! He was on the floor, maybe napping for some reason, with his hand draped in the bed for me to hold in case the nightmares came back.

"Doctor! Wake up, wake up! DOCTOR!" I said.

"…What? Oh, hi Tara. Jack. Jack? Since when do you sleep?"

Jack drifted into the conversation, "I don't. I just wanted to make sure Tara was okay."

That morning, I made pancakes for the guys and we had a great morning full of laughing and smiles. It felt good to reconnect with Captain Jack and the Doctor. I love them so much.

**2004:** We spent the last few months bonding, forgetting about the girl and Robin. We went to outer-space flea markets to buy things for the Doctor's band room, and Jack purchased a locket for me. I put an picture of the three of us in it. After coming home, we decided to go on another adventure into the past.

"I wanna see a dragon!" I said.

So they took me to the time of Pendragons.


End file.
